Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Saturday bike ride with the kids

So Saturday was a decent day for riding the bike. After all the chores were done, we decided to have a family day! My son was over, and we were going to the park for some play time, then to the library for some book-time.

Before we did all this though, since all the kids had been doing so great, I decided to surprise them with a reward. They've always bugged me about when I could take them for a ride on my bike. Well, without the proper safety gear, I didn't want to take them for a ride. But late last year, I got a backrest for the kids. Still had no helmet though.

Recently got an extra helmet though, so I figured I'd strap it on them and scoot around the block to see how they like it, and how good they do. So I told them that the first one to get ready gets to ride the bike around the block with me. Oh man, I wish they tackled all chores with the urgency that they did this one.

Elizabeth was first. Put the helmet on her, explained how the bike moves, and not to freak out when it leans around corners. And to hold on tight. :) So off we went. She handles it like a champ. The excitement on her face was classic! Parker was next. Oh man, nothing like a little boy on the back seat of dads scooter. I could only imagine his face if I were to call the backrest a sissybar. LOL But like the true ham and cheese he is, he had to thumbs-up the camera.

After his trip, came Isabelle. The grin on her face was ear to ear! They all did good. Especially with the turns. They loved the speed, Elizabeth told me she thinks that motorcycles go faster than cars. I told her that it just feels like it. :) When Isabelle was riding, all I could hear for the first half of the trip was "WOOOOOOOOO"

But since they all did do really good with the trip around the block, and our town is not huge, we agreed that they could ride with me on our family day. First leg of the trip was from the house to the park. Isabelle got to ride with me for that stretch. It was nice to ride through the park (which is a BEAUTIFUL ride), with someone I could talk to. So we get to the park, and the kids run off to play. From the park, we went to the library, and Parker got to ride with me for that one. He had a blast. I did have to remind him once or twice to hold onto me and not turn around to wave at my wife and the other kids. But other than that, "IT WAS AMESOME!!" (his words, lol)

Then after the library, we decided to go to Dairy queen on the way home. Elizabeth got to ride with me on that last stretch. She was concerned that the other kids got longer rides than she did, so I took her along the scenic road overlooking the river and the rest of the city. She seemed to like that. :)

Overall, it was a good day, and I'm proud of the kids that they did so well on the bike.